Tiffany’s Take: What is the Best Credit Card For Me? | Ep. 141

[00:00:00] Intro/Outro: You know what it is? That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the Money Talk with Tiff podcast.

[00:00:15] Tiffany Grant: Hey everyone, this is Tiffany's Take where I go over your questions that you submitted and answer 'em on the show.

[00:00:22] So the question that I received, Is what credit card should I get? And then the follow up question is how to choose the best credit card. Now if you are interested in asking your question on Ask Tiffany or Tiffany's Take, please go to www.moneytalkwitht.com/ask Tiffany, And there are a couple of ways to submit your question there.

[00:00:45] But let's go ahead and hop right into answering this question. First, what credit cards should I get now? It depends. Okay. Because there's so many different cards out there. There's so many different cards based on, what your credit score is, so on and so [00:01:00] forth. So I think I'm going to answer both questions at the same time.

[00:01:04] So when you're looking and you're evaluating credit cards, one thing you need to look at is the annual fee. Okay? So a lot of cards do have an annual fee, but there are some that do not and so I'm personally a fan of the ones that do not, cuz I'm like, I don't use credit cards that often in order to take advantage of some of the fees that are required with some of the high rewards ones.

[00:01:28] So you wanna make sure you evaluate the annual fee. Also speaking of rewards, evaluate the rewards. If there is an annual fee, make sure that the rewards that you're getting is going to justify paying that extra cost every year. Okay? And I've seen annual fees from $99 to $700 a year. So it just depends on what you're looking for, what your pockets can afford, and what reward you think you're really going to use.

[00:01:57] Then another consideration is [00:02:00] their requirements. So all credit cards have different requirements. I know when I was first starting out and my credit score was not where it was today , I was able to get a Capital One card. So I always recommend to people check out Capital One first. They have some unsecured cards.

[00:02:17] Oh, and that's another one. We'll get to that in a minute. But they have some unsecured cards where you don't have to have a great credit score, and they have good benefits, good rewards. And no annual fee. So I was able to start off with Capital One and I also liked them because if you use your lower credit limit responsibly, they will keep bumping you up.

[00:02:38] And I think with that card I started with $300 and once I showed them that I could use it responsibly, then they went ahead and bumped it up. can't remember incrementally what it is, but I know on that card today I have a 20,000 credit limit. Definitely look at Capital One if you're just starting out, but also I wanted to hop in the difference between secured and [00:03:00] unsecured.

[00:03:00] So if you see an offer or you get an offer for an unsecured card, unsecured means that you do not have to send in any money to get that card is just a regular credit card, so the money, the credit limit that you get on there, It's yours to spend, of course, use it responsibly. Use credit as a tool, not as income.

[00:03:21] So use it and spend it. Use it and pay it off, and keep that going. But there's also such things as secured credit cards and what secured credit cards they require you to actually send money in. That is your security to the credit card company saying, I'm only going to spend this amount and. They'll open up a credit line for you using that money that you sent in to secure it, and then that's what you can spend up to.

[00:03:50] Hey, it's Tiffany. Are you interested in starting a podcast? We can get up to two months of free podcasting service from Libsyn with the Code Money Talk. Get your show [00:04:00] on Apple Podcasts and Spotify anywhere you want. Get critical stats to help you grow. Find all the tools and support you need to sound your very best and you can even do video. Really bring your podcast to life with Libsyn you can use code again, Money Talk to get two months of free podcasting service. This is what I use to get my podcast to your listening ears, enjoy.

[00:04:28] So a lot of people with credit that isn't, is less than ideal. For them, they'll go ahead and start with a secured credit card. And that's a good way to just inch your way in. If this is all new to you or you are your credit is not where you want it to be. Having a secured card can help because even though you send the money in ahead of time, so you're telling them, you can trust me, this is my money.

[00:04:52] They still report it for you, like a regular credit card. So that's a good way to inch into it. The next thing you should think [00:05:00] about when you're looking at credit cards is how does this fit into your lifestyle? Okay, So my thing is, you should only get a credit card if you know you're going to be responsible with it.

[00:05:11] If you are just starting out on, a financial journey. And you haven't gotten the basics down, and you know that you're gonna be using this for income versus as a tool, then I would say just stay away for now, . Don't set yourself up for failure. If you are, if you know that you're not already there and you hear people in your ear, Oh, you need a credit card, you need this, or you get all these offers, and you are like, Ooh, you feel tempted.

[00:05:34] Don't set yourself up for failure. It is okay to take your time. I know I didn't get my first credit card until I was like 23 or something like that, maybe 24. For that reason, I knew I was not ready. I didn't wanna go the same route as I saw others around me, and so I was like, I'm just gonna wait until I get my money situated, then I'm gonna go ahead and get a card.

[00:05:56] And honestly, credit is a long game anyway. So even though I [00:06:00] waited that long after like about a year or so, I was ready to, get my house and do other things. Don't feel pressured, especially if you're 18, 19. Don't feel pressured to go ahead and jump into that card immediately. You don't have to.

[00:06:15] You could take your time and you can wait until you feel like you're responsible to do so those are my tips on how to choose a credit card and then also, Using that to figure out what credit card you should get. I will say do not go for those preapproved offers and stuff like that come in the mail when you are trying to go for a credit card.

[00:06:36] Do your own research. Don't just go face value with what they send, because of course they're gonna make it seem like it's the best card in the world because they trying to get your business. Do your own research. Go straight to the website, see what's out there. A lot of times there's sign up bonuses and things like that you can take advantage of, and you can find all that stuff on your own.

[00:06:56] You don't have to do the whole preapproved offer thing because. [00:07:00] Actually what's been happening is, for instance, on Credit Karma, this was some big news, is that they were saying that people were preapproved. Then they go to apply, get the hard credit inquiry, and now they do not qualify. The preapproved offers thing.

[00:07:14] Honestly, I just ignore it for myself, but, I would say go ahead and go to these different websites like Capital One, maybe American Express, Visa, whatever ones you're evaluating, and look at all their options and see which ones fit best for you. So hopefully that answers your question. Like I said, if you are interested in asking your question on Tiffany's take, go to www.moneytalkwitht.com/asktiffany and I will be happy to answer it for you. Bye.

[00:07:48] Intro/Outro: Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast this week. You can check Tiff out every Thursday for a New Money Talk podcast, but if you just can't wait until next week, you can [00:08:00] listen to. Podcast episodes, Moneytalkwitht.com or follow TIFF on all social media platforms at Money Talk with T until next time.

[00:08:11] Spend wise, by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is always sufficient.